CNN slams Biden for 'clearly overshadowing' Kamala Harris as she took the stage in critical swing state

Vice President Kamala Harris was set to make an appearance in the suburbs of Detroit on Friday when her boss President Joe Biden appeared to steal the limelight making a surprise appearance in the White House press briefing just moments before she took the stage to give remarks. 

It was the first time the president has shown up in the briefing room. CNN took note of the dueling appearances as it happened.

'We were actually about to go live to Vice President Kamala Harris who's speaking right now in Detroit, Michigan,' anchor Boris Sanchez said on air. 

'And apparently she's talking about this port strike ending, she's trying to appeal to union workers, and yet you have the President of the United States come out, clearly overshadowing her, answering significant questions,' he continued.

Sanchez questioned if it was a 'communications mistake? Is the left hand not talking to the right hand in this situation?'

Political strategist Frank Luntz who was a guest on CNN responded that had the two sides been coordinating 'this would not have happened.'

Harris was in Redford Township, Michigan on Friday afternoon where she spoke of the importance of organized labor and offered praise for first responders while speaking to a room of firefighters and union members.

Her appearance standing next to a firetruck in the Redford Township Fire Department North Station comes as the firefighters union declined to endorse Harris or Trump in the 2024.

The non-endorsement is seen as a blow to the vice president after the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), represents over 350,000 firefighters, emergency responders and other medical workers  was the first union to endorse President Biden in 2020.

‘Yours is a profession that is more than a profession, it really is about a calling,’ Harris told the crowd after receiving a warm welcome. She noted that her brother-in-law is a retired firefighter in California. 

‘I know what you guys do, and I know your character,’ Harris said. ‘I know your families. I know what it means for the whole community for you all to take on the lives that you have decided to live, and I am so thankful to you.’

She praised them for working ‘long shifts with unpredictable hours’ under ‘some of the most dangerous conditions.’

Harris said she’s grateful for the union that supports them and their rights to 'all they deserve in terms of wages and benefits.'

She was introduced by the president of the Michigan Professional Firefighters Union.

The IAFF is the latest major union to withhold an endorsement in the 2024 presidential race. Last month, the Teamsters union declined to endorse a presidential candidate, though multiple local chapters threw their support behind the Democratic nominee. 

 During her appearance, Harris also addressed the International Longshoremen's Association agreeing to suspend a strike that closed down major ports just weeks before the election. 

Harris this week signaled support for the union workers after the strike began Tuesday. On Friday,  the vice president praised the agreement stating 'they did good.' 

 'I say everywhere I go, look collective bargaining benefits everybody,' Harris said.

Later in her speech, Harris blasted Donald Trump as an ‘unserious – human,’ pausing before she said the word human as if she would like to have said something else as she went after him over health care and treatment of American workers.